Live Entertainment

I am sitting here in the den working on a talk for this weekend. Suddenly, there was a flurry of wings and several sparrows flew into the sliding glass window. They seemed to be in a hurry to get away from something. Something indeed! A young hawk had just flown into the yard and sat perched on the edge of the fence. I've been watching him for several minutes now. He appears to be a red-tailed hawk and is about a foot high from tail feathers to his head.
He isn't very noble, actually.
He's a teenage hawk.
This little guy is wobbly, trying to keep his balance on the fence. When he scratches himself he looks like he might fall off into my lavender below. I think his feet are cold because he keeps drawing one or the other of them up into his feathers and trying to stand on one leg. Perhaps this is "The Hawk Perch" that all adult hawks need to learn how to do in order to be cool. He is not very swift looking... He is quite a sight: a wobbling, bespeckled hawk, gawking around the yard, turning his head as though it is resting on a ball bearing. Very goofy looking as he scratches himself and sways to the left, nearly falling.
Such a teenager! All the equipment is there but he's not got command of it yet and he's still trying to figure out how to do all those things that adults do. He did scare the begeebies out of the birds in the yard, so he is an intimidating sight. But he's got a way to go before one would call him a proper, noble, fear-inspiring hawk.
Isn't it interesting how teenagers act the same way? He has speckles over his chest. Teens have spots on their faces. He looks a bit cuddly, as though he would be most comfortable cuddling up under his mother's feathers and his eyes look a bit sleepy. Not unlike the kids who, although they are out doing pretty interesting things in their techie lives, still want nothing more than to be close and comforted by their mom. They just don't often admit to it.
This guy finally swooped off across the neighbor's lawn and disappeared into the trees beyond. I hope he'll come back again. I'd like to see him again. It is fun to see how life develops over time.